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4/04/2012 @ 12:38PM1,155 views

3 Secrets Companies Know About You From Your Online Habits

In the age of oversharing, what don’t companiesknow? Google reads your emails, Facebook promotes ads based on your interests, Amazon predicts what you’ll buy, and even newcomer Pinterest knows what you want for your wedding.

It’s estimated that American consumers spend 35.3 hours per month online, with one out of every five minutes spent on social networking sites. The rest of that time is presumably split between shopping, researching, reading, watching videos, gaming and more.

Each of these online activities is an opportunity for companies to mine data about you.

For example, after reading this, you may decide to share this article on Facebook and Twitter and search Amazon for books on online privacy. Tomorrow, your Gmail account and Facebook may show ads for online security software, you may receive a paid Tweet for anti-spyware services, and Amazon could email recommendations on popular books about the Internet and privacy. It’s a general example, but it clues you in on how your actions can ripple out to your entire online experience.

With much of our personal information willingly and publicly shared, companies use this data to give us what they think we want and need. Here at CreditKarma.com, we’re firm believers in the safety and privacy of your online information, and wanted to share with you what you should know about online companies while cruising the Internet this very moment.

1) “They knowwhat you’re going to buy before you do.” Targetrecently came under fire for exposing a young girl’s pregnancy to her father when the retailer predicted her pregnancy based on her recent purchases, and mailed her a catalogue for expectant mothers. Target’s so-called “pregnancy prediction” score sounds unsavory, but it’s not uncommon. Many retailers use complex algorithms to identify shopping patterns and categorize people into certain customer profiles based on purchases, and use that to push more relevant ads to you.

While retailers have always kept records on customer shopping habits, two factors have changed the game: the technology to analyze patterns and predict behavior, and the traceability of online shopping. Sites have tools that give insights into trends and preferences about you as part of a larger consumer demographic. For example, if you’re buying cocoa butter lotion and prenatal supplements, retailers like Target may soon send you ads for strollers and cribs.

Online retailers can also drop browser cookies—markers that identify specific users and track browsing activities—as consumers shop online. Based on that data, a site can show you ads it predicts will appeal to you even as you’re browsing other sites. As you’re reading news on Yahoo!, you could see sales from luxury goods website Gilt on the sidebar, as prompted by your splurges there last week.

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